Wonderland Challenge 2020

The Mad Hatter

         PROMPT: Forever stuck in time! Write a story or poem where your character is always stuck at 6:00 p.m.

         

         Paul pounded the steering wheel.

         "Oh, come on! What's with this traffic stop?"

         The hiss of the air brakes still echoed in the cab. Static squawked from the radio. The truck rumbled and vibrated.

         Staring out at the stalled vehicles crowding him Paul had a strange sensation of deja vu. It's not as if he hadn't ever been stuck in a traffic jam; this felt different. This seemed too familiar. He laughed to shake off the eery shiver that rolled up his spine. Could his family be right? Did he spend too much time alone with his crazy thoughts?

         He reached for a pile of papers on the console. Just because the semi had to idle didn't mean he had to sit and do nothing. He hated to wait indefinitely. This ate into his driving time.

         Glancing at the blue light of the dashboard clock Paul noted the time. Again, he shivered. Wait a minute, that couldn't be right. Recognition evoked a snort. Huh, the display glowed the unmistakable 6:00 p.m.

         That's odd. What are the chances that he'd be stranded every evening at this exact time? It's not as if he drove the same roads either. Long haul meant just that, he covered thousands of miles. To verify this phenomenon, Paul checked his onboard e-log. He whistled as he verified that yes, every evening for the past month he'd been stationary at 6:00p.m.

         Well, this certainly qualified as peculiar. Curious, Paul reached for his headset and dialed Roddy. After the usual trucker complaints, Roddy admitted that he too sat idling in a traffic jam, and it began at 6:00 p.m.

         Roddy refused to consider cosmic or karma forces of the universe as scapegoats.

         "It's the government. They plan these stops, this congestion. They want us all to burn more fossil fuels. They control the consumption and the prices. It's big business. They force us into this rat race. They keep us on edge. We're too busy ranting about our commutes to worry about them."

         Paul let Roddy rant. If he had to be stuck at this same time on a never-ending loop then he'd find something to entertain himself at that time as he waited. Maybe he could tune into a stock-car race? At the very least, he should plan to stock snacks?

(385 words)